The Prime Minister, Mr. Mohammed Shia' Al-Sudani, participated today, Monday, in the joint Arab-Islamic summit hosted by the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to discuss the continuation of the Israeli aggression on Palestinian and Lebanese territories and the current developments in the region.

Mr. Al-Sudani stated in his speech on behalf of Iraq during the conference that the conflict did not start on October 7, 2023, as some portray it, in a deliberate neglect of decades of occupation, displacement, land usurpation, and violations of international laws and human rights. He pointed out that the ongoing Zionist aggression has resulted in thousands of martyrs, wounded, and missing persons, and millions of displaced individuals, most of whom are women and children, in a bloody scene recorded in sound and image and ignored by major countries and the international community.

His Excellency affirmed that Iraq has stood and continues to stand for de-escalation and against all forms of escalation. He has repeatedly warned of the entity's goal to expand the arena of conflict, causing a comprehensive war that would increase the suffering of the region's peoples and lead to dire economic consequences in a region that supplies the entire world with energy.

His Excellency reiterated Iraq's initiative to establish an Arab Islamic fund for the reconstruction of Gaza and Lebanon to confront comprehensive destruction, support afflicted peoples, and prevent the aggressor's goal of displacing the rightful owners of the land.

Here are the highlights of the speech delivered by the Prime Minister during the summit:

The international community, with its UN organizations and major powers, has widely failed to stop the escalation and prevent the genocide and crime being inflicted on Gaza and Lebanon.

The failure of the international community contributed to the escalation of aggression, which extended to Lebanon, the sovereign state, where the entity committed its crimes in the most horrific manner.

The Palestinians are the rightful owners of the cause, the land, and the decision, and no one has the right to concede or agree on their behalf.

We support the establishment of a Palestinian state on its entire territory, with Jerusalem as its capital.

A strong and firm stance is required, one that is credible, to demonstrate the will to stop the war and end the suffering of the Palestinian and Lebanese peoples.

All Arab and Islamic countries must contribute to the duty of relief.

Our commitment to aiding our people in Palestine and Lebanon is a humanitarian responsibility, and we strive to establish effective arrangements that involve everyone to prevent deliberate starvation.

It is time for us to act according to the cultural, economic, and political weight of our countries collectively in a world dominated by economic blocs and alliances.

It is time for our governments to achieve development by establishing the moral values for more than one and a half billion Muslims, whose sanctities have been insulted and who have been weakened by the Zionists, leading them to commit a crime against Palestine and Lebanon.

The shame of humanity will haunt anyone who contributed to the killing of an innocent or aided the oppressor against the oppressed.

The Media Office of the Prime Minister 

November 11, 2024